For the Spanish, a montado is a flavorful topping "riding" on a small slice of baguette. Montados or montaditos are very commonplace and popular in tapas bars. They come in all flavors - beef, chicken, pork, sausage or vegetarian, and can be prepared hot or cold. To prepare many montados, no recipe or cooking is needed - assemble the ingredients for the toppings and pile them on slices of bread, a sort of mini version of an open-faced sandwich.
Following is a list of montados, most of which do not need recipes.
Seafood
- Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Tuna and Mayonnaise, Drizzled with Olive Oil, Vinegar and Minced Garlic
- Salmon Ahumado (Smoked Salmon)
- Anchovies, Cheese and Red Peppers
- Bonito (Albacore) with Anchovies
- Bonito (Albacore) with Peppers
- Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese Recipe - Salmon Ahumado con Queso Blando
- Spanish Tuna and Anchovies Tapas Recipe - Atun con Anchoas
- Easy Salmon with Hardboiled Egg and Mayonnaise Recipe
- Cod with Caramelized Leek and Orange Recipe-Bacalao con Pueros Caramelizados
- Shrimp-Stuffed Roasted Peppers Recipe - Pimientos de Piquillo Rellenos de Gambas
- Pimientos Rellenos de Atun - Red Peppers Stuffed with Tuna
- Eggplant with Anchovies and Cheese Recipe - Berenjena con Anchoa y Queso Fresco
Meat & Poultry
- Lomo (cured pork loin)
- Gambas and Jamon Serrano (shrimp wrapped in Serrano ham and sautéed in white wine)
- Fried Chorizo Sausage
- Jamon Iberico
- Fried Morcilla (Spanish Blood Sausage) with or without Sautéed Onion Slices
- Hot Sobrasada de Menorca
- Eggplant, Green Pepper, Ham and Cheese
- Beef, Brie and Fig Spread
- Lomo (cured pork loin), Boiled Egg, Jamon Serrano, Cheese Slice
- Chicken, Tomato and Cheese Montados Recipe
- Eggplant, Chicken & Peppers Recipe - Montaditos de Berenjena, Pollo y Pimientos
There are no rules about what makes up a montado. Although they may have started out as the Spanish version of an open-faced sandwich - topping a slice of bread with a little piece of meat, there are plenty of vegetarian options. If it can sit on a baguette slice, it can be a montado, so let your imagination run wild!
- Grilled Peach & Roasted Tomato Montado Recipe
- Tomato, Goat Cheese and Avocado
- Eggplant and Tomato
- Grilled Sliced Mushrooms, Onions and Garlic
When trying to lose weight or simply counting calories, instead of using a slice of bread for the montado base, substitute a Portobello mushroom or a slice of tomato or eggplant:
- Tomato Slice topped with Goat Cheese and Avocado
- Grilled Eggplant topped with Tomato Slice (drizzle oil or Balsamic Vinegar)
- Grilled Portobello mushroom topped with Roasted Red Pepper and Melted Cheese
